Game review: Dark corridors, subtle ASMR, and burnt tires

From haunting horrors to high-speed classics.

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A must play haunting platformer

Reanimal (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC)

Reanimal arrives at a strangely fitting moment. In a world where news cycles are often filled with images of war, confusion, and displacement—situations where children are usually the most vulnerable—the game feels suddenly relevant. Instead of depicting conflict directly, Reanimal approaches it through symbolism, layering themes of trauma, survival, and loss beneath its eerie surface. Add a touch of the occult, and the result is a game that unsettles you in quieter ways, far deeper than simply waiting for zombies to jump out.

The joy of discovery

Reanimal keeps its mechanics simple and its path very linear, and that decision works in its favor. Much like Little Nightmares—also created by Sweden’s Tarsier Studios—the game moves players steadily from one area to the next without the distractions of branching paths or open-world detours. There are no maps to consult or menus constantly interrupting the experience. Instead, the story reveals itself gradually as you move through carefully crafted environments and cinematic sequences.

The locations themselves do much of the storytelling. A flooded urban landscape that oddly resembles España during monsoon rains, crumbling war-torn streets, and ghostly buildings create an atmosphere that is both haunting and strangely beautiful.

The cinematic game design encourages players to connect fragments of the story themselves. Environmental details, visual cues, and subtle narrative hints slowly assemble the bigger picture (which I won’t spoil). Rather than spoon-feeding the player with exposition, the game trusts you to interpret what happened in this world and what the children at the center of the story have endured. 

One thing I appreciated is how generous Reanimal is with respawn points. When blunders happen—oh boy, and they will—players are returned to the action quickly without losing much progress. This keeps the pacing smooth and prevents the game’s experience from turning into a “throwing-the-controller-kind” of irritation.

Simplicity works

The controls are very straightforward. Movements, interaction, and puzzle mechanics rely on a small set of button taps, making the game easy to pick up even for players unfamiliar with this type of platformer. Because of the simple controls, the focus stays on atmosphere and storytelling rather than technical complexity.

This uncomplicatedness also aligns well with the game’s linear structure. Reanimal will not make you juggle any color-coded materials, nor let you mix life-saving herbs; you are simply moving forward, area after area—scene after scene. 

Sound plays a huge role in shaping the overall experience. The audio design quietly builds tension and mystery, making every dark corridor and silent space feel like something is waiting just out of sight. Small details—faint ambient noises, distant echoes, and restrained musical cues—slowly deepen the uneasy atmosphere. There’s always the feeling that something unsettling is lurking beneath the surface. Play it with noise-canceling headphones and you’ll immediately understand what I mean.

Worth the time and money

Reanimal can be finished in less than 5 hours, which is relatively short compared to other games. It feels like an atmospheric narrative puzzle rather than a traditional platformer. The linear design allows players to immerse themselves fully in the world without worrying about missing content.

More than anything, it’s the story that lingers. It’s a quiet but powerful experience—one that stays with you long after the post credit scene fades. And if you’re playing with friends nearby, expect plenty of the classic “scream first, laugh after” moments along the way.

Games-on-the-go

A satisfyingly pointless way to pass time

Satisgame—(iOS/Android)

Accidentally discovered Satisgame while scrolling through the social media feed of an actress one day—and yes, she’s very much Pinay. Between the selfies and casual behind-the-scenes clips, a short video of an unnamed mobile game suddenly appeared—no tags, no descriptions, just hands popping out cartoony beans from a pod. It looked oddly hypnotic. Curiosity kicked in—and minutes later, the game was sitting on my tablet. 

Satisgame appeal thrives on the simple joy of completing trivial tasks. The game bombards the player a lot (and I mean a lot) of scenarios to complete. Each level gives you something small but strangely fulfilling to do—sorting objects, pulling out items, or arranging things into order. The goals are simple, but watching clutter transform into neat patterns activates the brain cells that enjoy symmetry, tidiness, and the feeling of finishing something small.

The ASMR effect

What truly elevates Satisgame is its ASMR-like treatment. Every stroke produces a soft, tactile sound: the faint fizz of escaping gas from a bottle, popping of balloons pinched by a needle, the gentle click of objects snapping into place and a lot more. With headphones on during your daily commute, the game becomes almost therapeutic. The sounds are subtle but really satisfying, turning each level into a reward for the senses.

Satisgame is as simple as it gets. No challenge or competition. It’s all about you, calmly completing small achievements, each bringing a small moment of calm. And yes, it quietly steals far more of your time than you intend to give.

Classics reloaded

The revolutionary driving simulator

Gran Turismo (1997) — (Sony PlayStation)

When Gran Turismo arrived on the original PlayStation in 1997, it changed the way racing games were perceived. Instead of treating cars like arcade toys, the game presented them as real machines governed by weight, traction, and the fragile relationship between tire and asphalt. There were no rockets firing from the hood or exaggerated turbo boosts sending vehicles flying through the air. The focus was simple: understand how a car behaves on the road.

I wasn’t exactly a racing fan, and I knew next to nothing about cars. But after just a few minutes with Gran Turismo on my old PlayStation, I was completely hooked. It was one of those early titles that quietly proved something important—that video games weren’t just for kids anymore. They were for the grown-ups too. The big boys.

And the graphics—at the time they were astonishing. I still remember showing the game to my uncle, and for a brief moment he genuinely thought he was watching a live broadcast on ESPN. The way the cars gleamed under the light and how the tracks stretched out ahead felt surprisingly lifelike for its time. Watching a Nissan Skyline GT-R and Toyota Supra racing head-to-head was pure 32-bit ecstasy. 

Then came the real addiction: tuning your car—hours lost in tweaking one’s ride. Gran Turismo didn’t simply let you race cars; it invited you to build them to your taste. A set of high-performance racing tires here, a level 3 exhaust there, maybe a turbo upgrade for that added boost on the straights. Looking back, Gran Turismo helped introduce an entire generation to car tuning culture long before it exploded into mainstream popularity through films like The Fast and the Furious.

The birth of ‘real driving simulator’

In many ways, Gran Turismo was the first racing game where gravity truly mattered. Cars leaned into corners with convincing weight, tires gripping the road before slowly giving way to a controlled slide at high speed. You could actually feel the difference between manufacturers—how a Nissan behaved compared to a Toyota, a Honda, a Mitsubishi, or even an Aston Martin.

The game’s influence eventually spilled beyond consoles. In 2023, the franchise even inspired a film adaptation, Gran Turismo, directed by Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Chappie, and Elysium). The movie tells the unlikely true story of Jann Mardenborough, a young gamer who turned his skill in the simulation into a real-world racing career—a testament to just how seriously the game’s driving physics were taken.

Gran Turismo was never just another racing title. It was a transcendent product that emanated from both the car and gaming cultures. To many players, it still stands as the greatest racing simulator ever made. The latest entry, Gran Turismo 7 (released in 2022), features more than 420 cars and such detailed driving physics that even professional racers use it for both training and entertainment. With a garage that large, the game lets you collect more cars than a flood-control contractor.

 

 

Reanimal keeps its mechanics simple and its path very linear, and that decision works in its favor. Much like Little Nightmares, the game moves players steadily from one area to the next without the distractions of branching paths or open-world detours. 

 

 

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